Books you've read that you're sure no one here has heard of

[Shao Feng-Li]

Well, then read the rest of them/read the books. They're really good

[Atria35]

I've read a number of Nook Books that are a little less popular, like
Dead(ish)
Cain's Apples
Girls to the Rescue #1
Raising the Dead
Short Stories For Older, and Not Quite So Old, Children

Dead(ish) and Short Stories were really..... Dead(ish) was pretty bad, while Short Stories was just stupid.

[Maokun]

Has anyone read any of the following:
> Jack of Shadows
> Stranger in a Strange Land
> A Canticle for Leibowitz

Those are in order from worst to best, though the first two are horrible and the latter one I'm curious in attempting to read (primarily because I know much of the story from Spark notes).

SiaSL is a really great book, blending intelligent sci-fi with social and humanistic commentary. However! Be warned that the author is prone to preach lengthily using a proxy character and some of his anti-establishment rants are only barely veiled jabs against western religion, which is something I usually can shrug but not when its length and obviousness actually detract from the normal flow of the story, so it got a bit tiring a few times.

If you believe yourself capable of wading through those occasional narrative mires, by all means read it.

[bigsleepj]

Loeloeraai by CJ Langenhoven, the first Afrikaans language science fiction novel. Despite being exceptionally scientifically accurate for 1920's, it changes gears at times into political satire. It was difficult to read, though, as it was written somewhat in a regional dialect and had many words that could be considered archaic.

[Cianter]

Let's see, The Land of Elyon by Patrick Carman is a really book series, hmmmm, what else? Oh, the Dragons in our Midst series by Bryan Davis, and the Door Within trilogy by Wayne Thomas Batson, love those ones, the only ones I own.

[FllMtl Novelist]

Let's see, The Land of Elyon by Patrick Carman is a really book series, hmmmm, what else?

Weird, I got the impression Land of Elyon was well-known, at least in the States. (I remember seeing posters of the first book's front cover around the bookstore, and it's distributed by a huge publisher.) I read the first three, but I didn't read any of the later ones. My sister did, though.

[Atria35]

Puling a few of my fave YA books for this

- Aria of the Sea by Dia Calhoun. I love this book. So hard to find in the library system!
- Chanters of Tremaris trilogy. I'm re-reading it right now, and it's also quite good.

[Cianter]

Oh oops, is it? I just picked it up one day and, yea.... I've asked tons of peoples about it and NONE of them have ever heard of it, but whatevsO.o But seriously you should read the other two, both are very good, especially Into the Mist:D

[ABlipinTime]

Really. Has anyone read Snow Crash?

[SierraLea]

Anyone ever heard of The Dragons of Ordinary Farm? I haven't finished it yet, but it promises a good ending. Also Kira, a story about a girl growing up in a country where girls are totally oppressed. And, get this, my sister has the same name as the main character!

[Neane]

Been reading Chaucer's Troilus & Criseyde. I'm on Book V with only about 800 lines left. I already feel comfortable declaring it a genuine masterpiece. Has anyone else here read it?

[Kaori]

Yes, but I have very little memory of it. I read it untranslated, so although I could understand enough to get the gist of what was going on, my comprehension was not all that great.

[SierraLea]

Oh, the Dragons in our Midst series by Bryan Davis, and the Door Within trilogy by Wayne Thomas Batson, love those ones, the only ones I own.

I've read both of those, and if you thought those were good, try some of the other ones they wrote. I think they actually get better as they go on.

[Raleford]

if you liked Dragons In Our Midst, you would probably like his other series Oracles of Fire, Echoes From the Edge, and Starlighter. He's a great author.

I read Dragons and Oracles, and thoroughly enjoyed them, and I've started Starlighter. I've looked at Echoes a little, but I'm not sold that it's something I'd be as interested in just yet.

I saw the TV Series.

I saw like 2 episodes because it was on Netflix, haha.

----
If I want to really get esoteric, Quantum Physics by Alistair Rae, though maybe it's cheating that I haven't finished it yet. Also in the esoteric category All You Have to do is Listen by Rob Kapilow, which is about learning techniques for listening to music (especially "boring" classical) and appreciate it new ways.

Also, for University I read [B]Becoming Madame Mao[/U] by Anchee Min and Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Ummm... I don't know that other stuff I've read is all that likely to be unique here, but maybe like the books by Pseudonymous Bosch and one book The Magicians Elephant by Kate Dicamillo? Also worth noting are the Dragonkeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul and the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson (I'm guessing some people here have read those).

That's all I've got without going through a huge list of books "just to see" and most of the series or books I really enjoy don't belong in this thread, since they're not that unknown.

[Icarus]

The Book of Atrix Wolfe, by Patricia McKillip was interesting.

Sadly, I tend to read contemporary fantasy, so nothing to out there for me.

That being said, Alloy of Law, book four of Mistborn, was fun.

[LupoRedgrave]

The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver and The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson.
I loved both!

[Meira]

er, is this considered gravedigging? sorry but i saw this topic and really wanted to contribute.

anyways i have read quite a few obscure books, one of them led me to discover one of my favorite authors. its Riddle of Stars (aka Riddle Master or Riddle Game depending on the version) by Patricia McKillip. i will fall off my chair if someone has heard of her lol (well figuratively cause im not sitting in a chair). but i LOVE her stuff, its been a while since i read any more of her books but i plan to pick up another sometime. their just so amazing!

also im not finished with it yet but i really enjoy Hound and the Falcon by Judith Tarr, i haven't finished it though. oh yeah and i found both at a flea market i love flea markets for that! i guess thats why i love reading the obscure stuff, cause a lot of it turns out to be amazing. sadly its hard to find other fans to discuss with though.

no seriously though guys, do McKillip fans even exist?!?!?! has anyone heard of either of these? i will be so shocked if someone actually has.

[uc pseudonym]

The gravedigging rules aren't set in stone, but I don't think anyone is bothered by bringing something back after less than a month.

I know Patricia McKillip. I read Od Magic and I plan to try her Riddle-Master trilogy at some point, which I believe includes (or is at least related to) the books you mentioned. There are some others who have read more of her work who may show up.

[Kaori]

There are some others who have read more of her work who may show up.

You called?

Riddle of Stars is just the title of one particular omnibus edition of the Riddle-Master trilogy. According to Wikipedia it's been released as an omnibus five times with a different title each time.

I guess I could be considered fairly familiar with McKillip; however, I like some of her works and feel pretty indifferent about others, so I wouldn't consider myself a fan. In particular, it's disappointing that her more recent works seem to focus more on style than on substance.

These are the titles I've read:

The Riddle-Master trilogy (interesting, compelling ideas but a bit unpolished compared to her other works)
Kyreol duology (Moon-Flash and The Moon and the Face; I liked these quite a bit)
The Throme of the Erril of Sherril (loved it as a kid and still enjoy it highly)
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (raises some interesting moral questions; probably one of her better works)
Fool's Run (I think I enjoyed it but my memory of it is very dim.)
Someting Rich and Strange (enjoyed the writing style; the environmental message seemed somewhat heavy-handed)
Alphabet of Thorn (pretty, but other than that I didn't like it very much)
Od Magic (enjoyed)
Harrowing the Dragon (some of these short stories were excellent; I don't think I liked all of them unequivocally, though)
The Bell at Sealey Head (style over substance; doesn't say anything really meaningful and the plot is just average)

Now that I'm looking at this list, I think that the short story "Harrowing the Dragon of Hoarsbreath" is absolutely my favorite out of everything of hers I've read.

[Meira]

The gravedigging rules aren't set in stone, but I don't think anyone is bothered by bringing something back after less than a month.

I know Patricia McKillip. I read Od Magic and I plan to try her Riddle-Master trilogy at some point, which I believe includes (or is at least related to) the books you mentioned. There are some others who have read more of her work who may show up.

thanks thats good to know, i am new so im not familiar with some things, i know on some sites people are pretty strict about gravedigging and some aren't.

wow i guess she's not as obscure as i first thought, which is a good thing im glad more people have heard of her.

also @Kaori i haven't read many of her most recent ones though i must agree with you on Alphabet of Thorn, that one didn't really stand out in my memory, i didnt think it was all that good. i did enjoy Bell at Sealy Head, the Riddle Master Trilogy, and Harrowing the Dragon of Hoarsbreath though i only read one story out of Harrowing the Dragon so far. but i haven't read many of the others you mentioned maybe i should read Forgotten Beasts of Eld or Throme of Erril and Sherril next? im glad to see someone who is at least familiar with her works.

[Atria35]

I feel safe in saying that I might be the only person on here that has read/is reading The Sword, Ring, and Chalice trilogy. It's fairly typical sword-and-sorcery stuff, but I think it's pretty interesting because I can't say I've read a whole lot of typical sword-and-sorcery stuff. If anything, it doesn't bog itself down ever. It all moves at a good clip and does well developing the characters - even if insomuch they're pretty stereotypical characters.

[ClaecElric4God]

The Reverend Spy - David P. Denton

[mechana2015]

Has anyone else here read Ian M Banks? So far I've read Use of Weapons, Player of Games and Excession by him.

[Neane]

Has anyone else here read Ian M Banks? So far I've read Use of Weapons, Player of Games and Excession by him.

I'd recommend anyone read The Culture Novels by Iain.M.Banks.

He created an entire universe and the focus of the story is the culture, the most advance, active, race.

They have various sized space craft, from hand sized to those slightly smaller than planets housing billion of people, It's a well developed universe.

Oh, there also sentient are the ships, they do what they want.

[mechana2015]

Oh, there also sentient are the ships, they do what they want.

The minds are one of my favorite features of the series, especially the snarky discussions in Excession.

[Neane]

Oh, there also sentient are the ships, they do what they want.

The minds are one of my favorite features of the series, especially the snarky discussions in Excession.

Iain M. Banks is, by far, my favorite author, and I'm not just referring to science fiction - period. Man's brilliant - his capacity for worlding, his clear and blunt style of writing, his dark tones and mature themes, his exploration of "human" nature, he's just legit. But he's definitely not the easiest guy to read, and he certainly leaves one desiring a more "traditional" story or even plot structure at times - in most of his novels, the protagonist doesn't get what they want, the bad guys usually survive or at least succeed to some degree before their defeat, a lot of people die, and the Culture ends up "winning" in a totally obscure and, frankly, messed up manner. A great example of this sort of atypical plot structure can be best seen in Banks' latest - The Hydrogen Sonata - or in Matter. Not all of them end sadly, but they never end happily, either.

The brilliance of Banks lies in his exploration of possibilities. The Minds, the super-A.I. "rulers" of the Culture - are just so cool, and the Culture's anarchistic post-scarcity society is really the only utopia that I find truly satisfying - Star Trek's Federation is all nice and good and clean, but it's not HUMAN, it's too damned perfect, too exact. The Culture offers paradise, yet doesn't detract from the grim realities of existence.

Now here's the thing to everyone reading this, You've got to prepare yourself for his level sort of heavy stuff: read Neuromancer or some other "lighter" reads, because Banks will blow your mind if you go in unprepared.


Now, on the topic:


Has anyone read any of these:


Buddenbrooks - Mann
Memoirs from the House of the Dead - Dostoevsky
And Then / Grass on the Wayside - Soseki (or almost anything by him, really)
L'Assommoir - Zola (or anything by him)
À rebours - Huysmans
The First Man - Camus (it's depressing in both its plot and the fact it was left unfinished)
Kanikosen - Kobayashi
Factotum - Bukowski (if you're into that sort of writer)
A Fool's Life - Akutagawa
The Trial - Kafka
A Dark Night's Passing - Shiga
All Quiet on the Western Front - Remarque
Grass for my pillow - Maruya
Summer Flowers - Tamiki Hara

These are all stuff that I enjoyed.

[mechana2015]

Now here's the thing to everyone reading this, You've got to prepare yourself for his level sort of heavy stuff: read Neuromancer or some other "lighter" reads, because Banks will blow your mind if you go in unprepared.

I read the whole sprawl trilogy before I started on Banks and I can see that, though, I find Banks to be an easier writer to read, clarity wise. The style of narration is just a bit less mushy and out there, though that may have to do with the setting and concepts of Gibson's stories as much as his writing style.

[Kaori]

Memoirs from the House of the Dead – Dostoevsky

I’ve read it. Now Dostoyevsky's Netochka Nezvanova, that is something I would be surprised if anyone here has read.

The Trial - Kafka

Have wanted to read this for a while but have never gotten around to it. I've read The Castle, “The Metamorphosis” (of course), and some of his short works.

All Quiet on the Western Front - Remarque

How is this something no one has heard of? Isn't it considered by some to be the greatest WWI novel ever written? While I haven't read enough war novels to personally vouch for that claim, it's definitely a fine book, and it's also rather famous.

[SierraLea]

Has anyone besides me tried "Surviving the Applewhites"? I can't remember the name of the author, but it was a pretty good coming-of-age story for some of the characters.

[Panda4christ:3]

Satu Country.